Walk the walk, not just talk the talk

"Israeli" map appearing on adverts

One Monday morning something unusual caught my attention as I was getting off the train; an “Israeli” map on an advert encouraging tourists to visit Israel. The map also covered the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan heights, none of which belong to Israel.

The West bank and Gaza are what is left of Palestine, following the 1947 occupation of Israel and the Golan Heights belong to Syria, now under illegal occupation by Israel. I felt very frustrated and angry by such a blatant public lie.

Encouraged by an email campaign I sent a complaint to Transport for London (TfL) and the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) protesting and asking them to remove the advert. The received response was truly a  triumph: “as the result of an instruction from the client we are in the process of removing the advertisements”.

I was amazed how a handful of email complaints managed to remove such a misleading advert from British tube stations. How much more could we do if we give up this complacency that we have and become actively involved in global affairs? However, as I made my way towards university I encountered the sad scene of a Muslim women in Starbucks.

Starbucks’ chairman, Howard Schlutz has been praised by the Israeli government for sponsoring pro-Israeli, anti-Palestinian seminars on college campuses and also sponsoring fund raising events for the Israel Emergency Solidarity Fund. He was also given the “50th Anniversary Friend of Zion Tribute Award” for his services to the Zionist state “in playing a key role in promoting close alliance between the United States and Israel”.

How many more “Gaza crisis” should the world witness until we realise that power lies in action and not just words?